


Sleep

by TheBritishGovernment



Series: 00Q Drabbles [4]
Category: James Bond - All Media Types, Skyfall (2012) - Fandom
Genre: But mostly fluff, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Sleeping Q is adorable
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-27
Updated: 2013-11-27
Packaged: 2018-01-02 19:06:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 600
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1060458
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheBritishGovernment/pseuds/TheBritishGovernment
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bond comes home to Q already asleep on the couch.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sleep

James trudged up the steps to his and Q's flat, sporting a slight limp and a wince from the shooting pain in his leg. Medical had only barely released him, as they usually favoured sedating him and forcing him to stay overnight for observation. At that point in the conversation, though, Tanner had walked in and given the nurses a friendly reminder that making enemies of a double-oh and his Quartermaster was not the brightest idea they had ever had.

He made a mental note to buy Tanner a bottle of something in thanks.

James could see the sitting room light still shining through the window, and he shook his head slightly. While Q was able to remember the exact coding of a program he had invented while sleep was still in his eyes, he had a shit memory when it came to anything practical. Like turning off the lights.

The door unlocked, and James pushed it open silently. He stepped into the hallway, setting his bag down before shrugging off his coat and closing the door. Q was bound to be asleep already, and, hell, he should have been asleep before James was even back in the country, so the agent tried to stay as quiet as possible as he made his way back to their room. As he turned the corner to pass the sitting room, however, he froze, hand halfway to the light switch. 

His eyes settled on the small frame of his boyfriend, who was sound asleep on their sofa. Q had his head propped up on an armrest, with the rest of his body stretched out over the sofa. A small smile ghosted over James' features as he stared at the familiar face, innocently relaxed in slumber. When the brunet woke up, the Quartermaster with the tried eyes, blood on his hands, and rarely genuine smiles would return, and James hated that fact more than anything else.

It wasn't Q fault – hell, it wasn't anyone's fault. Years of working at MI6 would scar anyone the way it had Q, if not worse. It was part of the job. Everyone was filled to their breaking point with their own guilt and medley of dark secrets. For Q, it was having to listen to people he knew die on a regular basis. The sounds and sights wore on him, just like they wore on James, and someday, they would kill them both.

The first time, James found him in the bathroom with bloody knuckles and a cracked mirror in from of him. Q had nearly thrown up in the sink, the lack of real food in his stomach the only thing that had stopped him. He was trying, unsuccessfully, not to cry, and the only thing James had been able to do was block the door so no one else would see his Q like that, and curse the fact that he couldn't protect Q from his own soul.

He couldn't do much more now. Leaning down, he carefully plucked Q's glasses off his face and them down on the table next to him, along with the book the boffin had been reading. He took the blanket off the back of the sofa and spread it over him, and then sat down on the ground next to the sofa, leaning his back against it. He tucked his head into the space next to Q's elbow and curled up slightly before falling asleep, exhausted and safe.

The morning would come, and with it, a myriad of new problems, but for now, it was night, and they could sleep.

**Author's Note:**

> Huge thanks to [TheExplodignPen](http://archiveofourown.org/users/TheExplodingPen/pseuds/TheExplodingPen)


End file.
